The United States embassy in Kuala Lumpur has announced that Malaysians, as well as other nonimmigrant foreign nationals traveling to the US, will be allowed to enter the country with proof of vaccination using any certificate given out by an official source, including the MySejahtera certificate. This comes as the US begins opening up its borders and lifting its travel ban on foreign visitors.
Starting 8 November, all foreign travellers will be allowed to enter the US, so long as they are fully vaccinated and get tested within three days before departure. The good news for Malaysians is that the US will be accepting vaccination certificates for any brand of COVID-19 vaccines that are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or the World Health Organisation (WHO).
This qualifies almost all the vaccines currently approved in Malaysia, including Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Sinovac, Sinopharm, Johnson & Johnson, and Moderna. Unfortunately, the single-dose CanSinoBIO vaccine, which Malaysia bought 3.5 million doses of, is not authorised by either bodies, so recipients of this vaccine won’t be able to enter the US.
The CDC considers individuals to be fully vaccinated 14 days after their second dose of a two-dose regiment or their first dose of a one-dose vaccine. This differs from the definition in Malaysia, which requires those receiving one-dose shots to wait 28 days before being considered fully vaccinated.
📢 Starting today! Beginning November 8, foreign nationals traveling to the United States are required to demonstrate proof of full vaccination against COVID-19, in addition to showing proof of a negative COVID-19 test.
🔗 Watch our explainer video! https://t.co/0qxNW7W91G
— U.S. Embassy Kuala Lumpur (@usembassykl) November 8, 2021
The country will accept both RT-PCR and rapid antigen tests for proof of testing negative for the virus, with children also required to be tested. According to an FAQ by the US Department of State, there are a few specific exceptions in which they would accept an individual traveller who is not vaccinated, but they would have to be tested one day before travel.
The embassy says that if you still have a valid visa in a previous passport, you can bring along both your current passport and the old one which contains your visa. If you don’t have it yet and wish to apply, the embassy says they only have limited appointments for tourist visa applications. You can find out more at their website.
Previously, the country had banned travellers from the European Schengen Area, UK, Republic of Ireland, China, Iran, South Africa, Brazil, and India, as well as those who had been in any of these countries 14 days before leaving for the US.
(Source: US Embassy in Malaysia)
